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"The   Pardoner's  Tale"   and 
"DeTDot  im   Stock" 


WALTER  MORRIS/ HART 


&ha; 


Reprinted  from  Modern  Philology,  Vol.  IX,  No.  i,  July  191 1 


The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago,  Illinois 


"THE  PARDONER'S  TALE"  AND  "DER  DOT  IM  STOCK" 

Clouston,  in  his  discussion  of  analogues  of  The  Pardoner's  Tale,1 
refers  to  the  Meisterlied  and  Fastnachtspiel  of  Hans  Sachs,  and  there 
is  a  similar  reference  in  Skeat's  Notes  on  The  Pardoner's  Tale. 
Stiefel,  in  one  of  his  articles  on  the  sources  of  Hans  Sachs,2  points 
out  some  of  the  striking  resemblances  between  Sachs  and  Chaucer, 
and  there  is  some  further  discussion  in  Creizenach's  Geschichte  des 
neueren  Dramas.3  Curiously  enough,  however,  no  one,  so  far  as  I 
know,  has  sufficiently  emphasized  the  importance,  for  Chaucer  stu- 
dents, of  Sachs's  play,  nor  shown  that  it  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
nearest  surviving  relative  of  Chaucer's  version.  Sachs,  as  Stiefel 
says,4  was  in  the  habit  of  finding  material  for  his  Fastnachtspiele  in 
sermon-books  and  in  German  translations  of  fabliaux,  and  it  is,  of 
course,  quite  possible  that  Chaucer  made  use  of  a  similar  source.5 
Der  Dot  im  Stock  may,  then,  be  of  the  greatest  significance,  as  throw- 
ing some  light  on  the  nature  of  the  material  which  Chaucer  turned 
to  gold. 

The  Pardoner,  as  everyone  remembers,  chose  to  satisfy  the 
conflicting  demands,  of  the  Host,  for  som  mirthe  or  japes,  and  of 
the  gentles,  for  som  moral  thing,  by  preaching  a  typical  sermon, 
illustrated  by  a  tale. 

'Lordings/  quod  he,  'in  chirches  whan  I  preche, 

I  peyne  me  to  han  an  hauteyn  speche, 

And  ringe  it  out  as  round  as  gooth  as  belle, 

For  I  can  al  by  rote  that  I  telle. 

My  theme  is  alwey  oon  and  ever  was — 

"Radix  malorum  est  Cupiditas."  (vss.  329  fi\6) 

He  began  with  an  account  of  a  company  of  young  folk  in  Flanders 
who  "haunteden  folye,"  but  he  broke  off  to  preach  a  sermon  against 
the  three  vices  of  gluttony,  gambling,  and  profanity.     This  sermon 

1  Chaucer  Society,  Originals  and  Analogues,  434. 

2  Germania.  XXXVI,  51.  »  III,  308.  *  Oermania,  XXXVII,  219. 
s  Although  the  story  has  not  been  found  in  any  mediaeval  sermon  or  story-book. 

See  Clouston,   Originals  and  Analogues,  417. 

•  Cf .  also  vs.  426. 
17]  1  [Modern  Philology,  July,  1911 


M566978 


2  Walter  Morris  Hart 

finished,  he  took  up,  once  more,  his  tale,  but  with  his  company  of 
young  people  now  suddenly  reduced  to  three  revelers.  Early  one 
morning,  these  three,  seated,  as  was  their  wont,  in  the  tavern,  heard 
the  sound  of  a  bell  carried  before  a  corpse.  The  body,  they  learned, 
was  that  of  one  of  their  old  companions,  slain  by  "a  privee  theef, 
men  clepeth  Deeth."  Immediately  they  determined,  with  many 
oaths,  upon  revenge,  and,  plighting  their  troth  to  live  and  die  each 
for  the  others,  they  set  out  to  slay  Deeth,  which  that  so  many  sleeth. 
At  a  stile  not  far  from  the  tavern  they  met  an  old  and  poor  man, 
who  greeted  them  meekly.  The  proudest  of  the  three  revelers 
answered  him  roughly: 

What,  carl,  with  sory  grace! 
Why  artow  al  f orwrapped  save  thy  face  ? 
Why  livestow  so  longe  in  so  greet  age?  (vss.  717  ff.) 

The  old  man  replied  that  no  one  would  exchange  youth  for  his 
age,  and  that  death  would  not  take  his  life.  He  reproved  their 
lack  of  the  courtesy  due  the  aged,  and  begged  leave  to  go  his  way. 
"Not,"  cried  the  second  gambler,  "until  you  have  told  us  of  this 
false  traitor  Death." 

Tel  wher  he  is,  or  thou  shalt  it  abye, 

By  god,  and  by  the  holy  sacrament! 

For  soothly,  thou  art  oon  of  his  assent, 

To  sleen  us  yonge  folk,  thou  false  theef!  (vss.  756  ff .) 

The  old  man  thereupon  directed  them  to  an  oak  standing  in  a  grove 
near  by.     Thither  they  ran  and  there  they  found 

Of  florins  fyne  of  golde  y-coyned  rounde 

Wei  ny  an  eighte  busshels,  as  hem  thoughte.  (vss.  770  f .) 

The  worst  of  the  three  revelers  at  once  proposed  that  two  of  them 
should  guard  the  treasure,  while  the  third,  chosen  by  lot,  should  run 
to  the  town  and  secretly  fetch  bread  and  wine.  The  lot  fell  upon 
the  youngest.  During  his  absence  the  others  plotted  to  stab  him 
on  his  return,  in  order  to  divide  the  gold  into  two,  instead  of  into 
three,  parts.  He,  meanwhile,  permitted  his  imagination  to  dwell 
upon  the  beauty  of  the  florins,  and  to  draw  a  pleasant  picture  of  the 
life  that  he  could  lead  if  all  were  his.  Thereupon  he  went  to  an 
apothecary  and  asked  for 

18 


"Pardoner's  Tale"  and  "Der  Dot  im  Stock"  3 

Som  poyson,  that  he  mighte  his  rattes  quelle; 

And  eek  ther  was  a  polcat  in  his  hawe, 

That,  as  he  seyde,  his  capouns  hadde  y-slawe, 

And  fayn  he  wolde  wreke  him,  if  he  mighte, 

On  vermin,  that  destroyed  him  by  nighte.  (vss.  854  ff .) 

Then  he  procured  three  large  bottles,  put  the  poison  into  two  of 
them,  and  filled  all  three  with  wine.  Upon  his  return  his  two  com- 
panions slew  him,  as  they  had  planned,  drank  of  the  poisoned  wine, 
and  died. 

But,  certes,  I  suppose  that  Avicen 

Wroot  never  in  no  canon,  ne  in  no  fen, 

Mo  wonder  signes  of  empoisoning 

Than  hadde  thise  wrecches  two,  er  hir  ending,  (vss.  889  ff .) 

Nearly  two  hundred  years  later  (August,  1555),  Hans  Sachs 
dramatized  a  similar  tale  for  one  of  his  Fastnachtspiele,  Der  Dot  im 
Stock.1  An  angel  speaks  the  prologue,  explaining  that  this  is  to  be 
an  "  erschrocklich  peyspiel"  of  how  through  covetousness  three 
murderers  slew  one  another.  A  hermit  (Waldbruder)  "get  ein  an 
einem  stecklein,  dregt  ein  paternoster,  spricht: 

"Ich  pin  hewt  lang  im  wald  vmdreten, 
Mein  degliche  tagzeit  zw  petten, 
Wie  ich  das  trieben  hab  vil  jar. 
Von  der  welt  abgeschieden  gar 
Hab  ich  got  dint  in  alien  sachen 
Mit  vasten,  petten  vnd  mit  wachen, 
Mit  vil  kestigung  vnd  hart  liegen. 

Hab  mich  gleich  mvied  im  wald  vmbgangen. 

Da  secz  ich  mich,  ich  merck  gar  wol : 

Dieser  stock  ist  inwendig  hoi. 

Ich  wil  aufsten  vnd  schawen  nein, 

Was  darin  mag  verporgen  sein. 

Da  ligt  ein  schacz;  pehtiet  mich  got! 

Warhaft  steckt  darinen  der  dot, 

Wan  Salomon  sagt,  das  reichttimb 

Seim  herren  oft  zv  schaden  kumb."  (vss.  19  ff.) 

For  a  moment  he  is  tempted,  then  flies  from  temptation. 

i  Ed.  Goetze,  in  Werke  von  Hans  Sachs,  VI,  95  ("Neudrucke  deutscher  Litteratur 
werke,"  Bde.  60-61). 

19 


4  Walter  Morris  Hart 

Three  murderers  enter.  Their  conversation,  strewn  with  oaths, 
reveals  their  way  of  life.  They  have  had  bad  luck  of  late  and  have 
been  hard  pressed  by  the  officers  of  the  law.  But  the  first,  Dismas, 
declares  that  he  fears  nothing  so  long  as  his  mother  lives,  for  she  is 
a  magician  and  can  keep  him  out  of  prison;  and,  as  for  the  next 
world,  there  is,  he  declares,  no  heaven  or  hell,  no  god  or  devil;  we 
all  die  like  cattle.  At  this  the  third  murderer,  Jesmas,  protests. 
He  fears  the  law  and  thinks  that  they  should  leave  that  wood;  and 
he  fears  the  day  of  judgment  and  the  life  to  come.  Now  they  see 
the  hermit  running  fearfully.  Dismas  proposes  an  attack;  Jesmas 
protests  on  account  of  the  old  man's  manifest  poverty.  Barrabas, 
the  second  murderer,  answers  (here  as  elsewhere)  these  protests. 
Dismas  speaks  to  the  hermit: 

Alter,  wan  her?  peschaide  mien! 

Wariimb  schawst  so  oft  hintersich  ?  (vss.  143  f.) 

He  replies  that  he  has  seen  death  in  the  stump.  Dismas  answers 
that  it  is  death  for  him.  He  begs  for  his  life,  but  they  strike  him 
down,  and  he  declares  that  God  will  avenge  his  death  upon  them. 
Dismas  discovers  the  treasure  in  the  stump,  "pey  dawsent  guelden 
rot."  He  suggests  that  they  draw  lots  to  see  who  shall  go  to  the 
town  for  bread  and  wine.  The  lot  falls  upon  Jesmas.  His  con- 
science is  troubled,  and  he  fears  the  old  man's  curse.  As  soon  as 
he  has  gone,  Dismas  suggests  killing  him  to  prevent  his  betraying 
them.  Barrabas  agrees,  and  calls  attention  to  the  advantage  of 
dividing  the  treasure  into  two,  rather  than  three,  parts.  They 
swear  to  keep  faith  in  one  another,  and  go  out  to  see  if  the  hermit 
had  not  some  gold  about  him.  In  their  absence  Jesmas  returns. 
He  explains  to  the  audience  that  he  has  poisoned  the  wine,  and 
affirms  that  it  will  be  a  good  deed  to  rid  the  world  of  his  two  com- 
panions; moreover,  the  treasure  will  be  his,  and  he  can  live  happily 
— and  piously — ever  after.  But  Dismas  and  Barrabas  now  return, 
accuse  him  of  informing,  and  declare  that  he  must  die.  After  his 
death  they  eat  and  drink,  and  make  plans  for  the  future.  But 
suddenly,  "Dismas  ....  grewft  vnd  reipt  sein  pruest  vnd  spricht: 

"O  gsel,  wie  uebel  thiiet  mir  grawen 
Vnd  thiiet  mich  gleich  ein  frost  an  stosen! 
20 


"Pardoner's  Tale"  and  "Der  Dot  im  Stock"  5 

"Barrabas  ruemfft  sich  auch  vnd  spricht: 

"Vnd  mir  auch;  hab  dir  die  franczosen! 
Wie  wirt  mir  so  eng  vmb  das  hercz ! 
Mein  ganczer  leib  pidmet  vor  schmercz. 
Mich  diinkt,  es  grewff  mir  nach  dem  leben. 

"Dismas stet  auff,  get  lancksam,  spricht : 

"Wie  sint  mein  schenkel  mir  so  schwer! 

Kan  nit  mer  auf  den  fiiesen  sten! 

Mir  wil  geleich  die  sel  ausgen.  (vss.  288  ff.) 

"Er  felt  nider  sam  dot." 

The  angel  speaks  the  epilogue  to  the  effect  that  "Wan  geicz  ist 
ein  wurczl  aller  siient,"  as  St.  Paul  says. 

Between  Hans  Sachs's  version  and  Chaucer's  certain  points  of 
resemblance  will  be  apparent: 

1.  The  conception  of  the  Hermit — old  and  weary,  at  least,  in 
S.,  though,  manifestly,  not  immortal,  as  in  C.  (In  C.N. A.1  he  is 
"un  romito  ....  che  era  assai  affaticato.") 

2.  His  treatment  by  the  leader  of  the  three — which  does  not, 
indeed,  go  beyond  rough  speaking  in  C.  (In  C.N. A.  they  accost 
him  simply,  ask  him  to  show  them  where  Death  is,  and  call  him  a 
fool  when  they  see  the  treasure.) 

3.  The  old  man's  protest.     (Not  present,  of  course,  in  C.N. A.) 

4.  The  position  of  the  treasure — in  a  hollow  tree  in  S.,  under  an 
oak  in  C.     (In  C.N. A.  it  is  in  "vna  grandissima  grotta.") 

5.  The  nature  of  the  treasure — gulden  in  S.,  florins  in  C.  (In 
C.N. A.,  it  is  "molto  oro"  simply.) 

6.  The  conception  of  the  two  groups  of  murderers  as  profane, 
blasphemous,  and  of  an  evil  way  of  life.  (In  C.N. A.  they  are  not 
characterized  at  all.) 

7.  The  conception  of  the  characters  of  the  three.  In  each  case 
one  is  clearly  the  leader,  the  most  wicked,  the  originator  of  the 
ideas.  The  second  is  neutral,  easily  led.  The  third,  who  goes  to 
the  village  for  bread  and  wine,  is  younger,  perhaps  less  evil  than  his 
companions.  In  S.  he  protests  against  the  leader's  blasphemy, 
against  killing  the  hermit,  has  conscientious  scruples  and  fears. 

1  I.e.,  in  the  story  in  the  Cento  Novelle  Antiche,  reprinted  in  Originals  and  Analogues, 
132  fl. 

21 


6  Walter  Morris  Hart 

In  C.  he  manifests  his  inexperience  in  overdoing  his  explanations  to 
the  apothecary.     (In  C.N. A.  the  characters  are  not  differentiated.) 

8.  The  vows  of  brotherhood — in  S.,  the  two,  after  the  departure 
of  the  third  murderer;  in  C,  all  three  revelers.     (No  vows  in  C.N. A.) 

9.  They  let  chance  decide  who  shall  go  to  town — by  dice  in  S., 
by  lot  in  C.  In  both  the  youngest  is  chosen.  (In  C.N. A.  the  second 
murderer  proposes  the  plan  simply.) 

10.  The  order  of  the  narrative — in  both  S.  and  C.  the  account 
of  the  third  murderer's  plot  follows  the  account  of  the  plot  of  the 
other  two.     (This  order  is  reversed  in  C.N. A.) 

11.  The  moral.  The  Angel's  "Wan  geicz  ist  ein  wurczl  aller 
siient"  is  obviously  a  translation  of  the  Pardoner's  text:  "Radix 
malorum  est  cupiditas."     (In  C.N. A.  this  does  not  occur.) 

12.  The  two  murderers'  dramatic  account  of  their  sufferings,  in 
S.,  suggests  C.'s  reference  to  the  "wonder  signes  of  empoisoning" 
which  "hadde  thise  wrecches  two  ere  hir  ending."  (In  C.N. A. 
there  is  no  reference  to  the  nature  of  their  sufferings.) 

Manifestly  Sachs's  and  Chaucer's  versions  are  much  more  closely 
related  to  one  another  than  is  either  to  their  nearest  common  rela- 
tive, the  version  in  the  Cento  Novelle  Antiche.  It  is  no  part  of  the 
present  purpose  to  make  once  more  the  comparisons  with  the  other 
versions.  For  these  the  reader  is  referred  to  Clouston's  article1 
and  to  Professor  Canby's.2 

Walter  Morris  Hart 
The  University  of  California 

1  Originals  and  Analogues,  129  ff.,  415  fl.,  544  ff. 

*  "Some  Comments  on  the  Sources  of  Chaucer's  Pardoner's  Tale."  Modern  Philology, 
II,  477  fl. 


22 


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